Xemnas Is A Moron
by My red-headed idol
Summary: Pretty much the bit where Axel gets sent after Roxas. Not too sure where it's going yet... Well apart from the obvious! Ideas welcomed, but no promises! First time I've posted a chapter without having written the whole story! Bit yaoi, T for now.


Disclaimer: I own nothing, certainly not these characters or Kingdom Hearts....

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Xemnas Is A Moron

Axel thought he already knew how much of an idiot Xemnas was, but that was before the meeting! They had all, bar Xemnas and his buttkisser, Saix, been in Luxord's room playing blackjack and getting seriously pissed when the great leader decided to call a meeting – immediate attendance required. By mutual consent they went as they were, merely throwing on their robes en route, in any event Lux couldn't be bothered to perform his party trick - even on himself. Dem was hyper, Axel was pissed, Lux was pissed off, because he'd been dragged away from winning as usual, Xig was pissed off at losing again, and Xaldin was half asleep. Roxas was absent – and that was the whole problem – and they all knew it.

All of them felt differently about Rox's 'defection', and Axel knew that after the meeting, the easygoing relationship they had all built up while Roxas was amongst them would change. Xemnas would not tolerate anyone leaving the Organization, least of all his Keyblademaster; the repercussions were going to be severe, and Axel was worried to hell, that the kid he thought of as a brother, was about to be mowed down by Saix, or worse still, Xemnas himself! He never imagined in a million years, that Xem would send him do it. He could see the logic – Xem would prefer Rox back in the fold, and Axel was his best chance of appealing to Rox's emotional memories, but he was also the worst choice if it came to fighting – Ax couldn't eliminate Roxas, ever. Ax knew that, and prayed that Xem didn't. He was Rox single best chance of staying 'alive', at least until he could be rejoined with his heart, that heart which now beat in Sora's chest.

By rights, and Axel understood this, Roxas shouldn't even exist. He had a living Somebody. For Roxas the journey to become whole was actually far harder than for the rest of them, it wasn't simply a case of destroying the right heartless, it was giving up himself to an unknown body, or fighting that part of himself, in order to reclaim the heart. He knew that Rox himself, was unsure which route he would ultimately choose to take, what he didn't know was, that the choice was right then, being taken out of Roxas's hands and that the job he had been charged with, against all his instincts, was about to become a helluva lot more difficult.

Dem knocked on his door. He couldn't remember the last time Dem had knocked on his door. Long before he and Dem had become a couple, he and Rox, used to burst in with a mere yell to announce their presence. He knew it was Dem, and it disturbed him - they didn't see eye to eye on Roxas. When Rox had told them what he was planning, Dem, as emotional as ever, despite missing a heart, had felt hurt and betrayed. Axel understood Rox's desperate need to find Sora, and sort things out for once and for all. He, after all, had met Roxas's heartbearer and knew just how alike they were, he had almost felt the same way about Sora as he did about Rox.

He was almost jealous, knowing how you would turn out as a Somebody was an amazing thing, and Sora was so emotionally strong, like Rox, only more so – it made Ax wonder how he must have been, and could be again! Dem just didn't get it. He still thought their emotions were real; Axel knew that Dem thought he was in love with him, he'd said it often enough. Ax knew that if he had a heart he would feel the same, but had promised himself that he would never say the words until he did have a heart again. He still residually cared enough not to ever want to hurt Demyx, he just didn't realise that, by refusing to admit to what he actually thought he felt, he was hurting him massively.

Dem still hadn't entered. He was obviously waiting for Ax to admit him. Axel was now seriously worried about the state of their relationship, and what this new meeting had done to it. His voice didn't sound terribly welcoming when he yelled, an exasperated, "Come in!"

Demyx portalled in, and stood there, stock still, not looking at him, but at his own feet, and still in his robe. He looked down, in an 'every tap in the castle was about to malfunction' way, and was taking deep gulping breaths.

"What's up Dem? Why so glum? Nothing's changed – has it? We're still together, hearts or no. The Organization still functions, as much as it ever did! What's up?"

"Rox has gone!" intoned Demyx, in a mournful tone that Ax had never heard before.

"You knew that! That's why I've been ordered after him, sweetie! Why so blue? It could have been Saix, or Xem! You weren't like this at the meeting, I thought you quite approved, which I can't say made me happy, but on the other hand, I already knew how you felt."

"No, Ax. Rox has gone. Dead and gone. Watch the cams. Riku came, seemed to turn into Ansem, that guy that Xemnas and the others used to work for, and took Rox somewhere. He's disappeared like Sora, and Namine and that Ansem guy! We can't find him on any vid, anywhere! He's gone, completely gone!"

Dem couldn't hold it in any longer, and burst into tears, running into Axel's arms.

"Ax, I can't help it," Dem sobbed, "I hate him for what he's doing to us. If he hadn't left, none of this would have happened. If he'd just waited, we could have sorted Sora out...Ax, I can't bear to lose you too," he gulped, "and if you go after him, I will."

Axel slowly manoeuvred himself and Demyx up, and still with his arms wrapped round him, walked over to, and switched on his screen. What he saw there, upset him as much as Dem, not because he was now going to have to follow a very dangerous route to get to Roxas, but because despite what Roxas had tried to do, events had overtaken him and he was not going to be allowed to follow his own path – and he knew how important that had been to Roxas. Life was a real bitch, sometimes.

"Dem, you're right, the situation has changed, we'll go and see Xem, maybe he'll let us do this together. I'm going to have to pass through the barrier to an alternate reality, a number 10 did that once, and never came back, hence Luxord; we don't even know if you can return from an alternate reality and I'd be perfectly in order asking for backup! Not to mention the fact that, if Roxas is in an alternate reality, maybe, just maybe," hypothesised Axel, " I won't be required to 'follow and return' him now."

Demyx caught one word in five through his sobs, but nodded anyway, and Axel portalled them both to the corridor outside the boss's study.

"Dem, wipe your face, and for shit's sake stop crying before I ask to go in! We need to look strong in front of those two, however we feel!"

Demyx's head came up, and he began to dry his tears with a tissue from his pocket, he had noticed that Axel had used the word 'feel', something he never did.

"OK, here goes nothing!" said Axel as he banged on the door. By now Demyx's beautiful face looked sad but normal, and by the time Saix opened the door some minutes later, he looked pretty much as he ever did.

"Need to speak to the great leader in light of recent events, you blue buttkisser," stated Axel, not mincing his words.

"Way to go Ax! I'll really let you in after that!"

"Yeah, you will, or it'll be you heading into the unknown, away from loverboy and his Kingdom Hearts, over my dusk body."

"True. OK then, enter!"

Axel realised too late, that Saix had given in way too easily. He had been expecting something like this and was prepared, which meant that Xemnas was prepared, and Ax and Dem weren't – they were still in shock.

"If you're here to ask if you can take your faithful sidekick, Axel, the answer's – no!" boomed Xem from behind the desk. "We are short handed and on a recruitment drive. I can't spare him, not to mention the point that, thus far, no one has returned through the reality barrier – though I accept that we may all have to traverse it in order to get to Sora, in the end. We've spent months modifying the portalling system for that very possibility, in fact, we have worked on little else for the last month or so, but you will still be the guinea pig, and I'm not willing to risk two of you – yet!"

It was as if Xemnas knew that the small ray of hope, that he would allow it, should Ax prove successful would be enough to goad Ax on.

"Right then, I'll go in a bit – but if it works and I get back OK, then Dem comes with me next time!"

"As you say, Axel, if it works Demyx can go with you, but he cannot and will not interfere in your job. You are the one who was closest to Roxas. You are the one who can bring him back! Just as a trial we have sent some dusks, we'll know soon if they can get back or not. Since they don't have the power to portal themselves it's not a true test, but you never know...We gave them a couple of computer images of Roxas to work with, they might just bring him back – and then we can reassign you – as babysitter!" Xemnas and Saix both burst into laughter, Axel felt like sticking the pair of them with his chakram, except as long as he was in their space it would not manifest in his hand!

Demyx looked very serious, and sad. It was only later, a lifetime later, that Axel realised how much it had cost Demyx to say those words that day.

"If the dusks come back OK, Ax can go without me. I'll only get in his way 'cos I'm so angry at Rox, and I don't see things the same way as Ax – I never met Sora. There's no way I could understand either Rox or Ax on this, it's nearly split us up, so I'm going to stand down."

Even then, Ax knew it was big of Demyx to say that, and he hugged his boyfriend, bestowing a gentle kiss on his cheek, as far as he was prepared to go in front of two people he couldn't stand, but who held his heart in their hands.

"Right, Axel, you're on standby. As soon as the dusks get back, we'll contact you. Be ready! Dismissed!" boomed Xemnas.

They portalled straight back to Axel's.

"Well, I'm ready," Axel grinned, "how about you?"

Demyx managed a vague smile, Ax knew this was not going the way that he had hoped!

"Dem, stop worrying, I'm not going anywhere for a while. Let's make the most of that while! I will be back, we just don't know when, knowing Rox, he'll make it difficult, but I will make it back, sweetie! I have no intention of fading without seeing you again!" said Axel, nibbling at Dem's ear, and drawing him down on to the bed.

Demyx let his fears go, and let himself sink into his lover's arms. Right then, he could feel how badly Axel needed him.

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Please review, I'm not too sure about continuing this particular line!


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